Air filter



c. A. wlNsLow Y* 1,898,027

Feb. 21, 1933.

AIR FILTER Filed Jan.. l0, 1929 Patented Feb. 21, 1933 CHARLES A. WINSLOW, OF VALLEJO, GALIFOBNI.

.ua FILTER Application led January 10, 1929. Serial No. 331,488.

This invention relates to air lters for internal combustion engines.

The principal object of the invention 1s the provision of a new and improved air lter having novel means for supplying a liquid such as oil to the filter medium.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved'lter medium and its arrangement in an air lter for the air intake of an internal combustion engine.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved air lter that is simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, easily assembled,l eicient in operation, and that will not easily become clogged with dirt, dust or other foreign matte Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from `the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the device;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the device shown in Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of a portion of the lter material;

Fi 4 is a vertical section of the device showing a modied arrangement of the lter material;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of a lter with a still diilferent form of arrangement for the lter material;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modied form of lter material;

Fig. 7 isa fragmentary view of the lter material shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a still further modied form of lter material.

It is well known that Aanimal ber, such as'hair, and nely divided mineral matter such as metal fabric or metal wool, or reticulated metal material such as wire screen and the like, make excellent air lter material if they can be kept moistened with a liquid such as oil for collecting the dust.- For the purpose of this description the latter will be referred to throughout the description as metallic ber, and the liquid employed will be considered as oil, although it w is understood that any other suitable liquid -such as burlap for constitutin may be employed. The cohesion between the oil and hair or metal is not suicient to retain the oil against the force of the intake air for any considerable length of time. Filter material of vegetable ber is objectionable because, while it will retain the oil, it soon becomes clogged with dust and in a comparatively short time becomes inoperative as an efficient air lter.

The present invention seeks to provide an air lter of a mass of material of loose texture such as metal or animal ber lwith means for automatically supplying oil-"to the lter material in a cheap and simple manner. It has been found that by bringing the animal ber or metal lter material in contact with vegetable ber or fabric impregnated with oil, oil will be supplied to the lter material by capillary attraction to moisten the same for removing the dust from the air passing through said lter.

Any suitable material may be employed as a filter member. A thick layer of animal hair secured to a fabric of vegetable ber cheap ives good results and an excee ingl matelter can be manufactured from suc rial.

A suitable casing is provided for containing the lter member and for directing the air therethrough. In the form of the dea backing y vice selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the reference character 10 designates generally the lter which comprises a casing 11 composed of the outer tubular member or wall 12 and the outer and inner end members or caps 13 and 14. The

inner end member 14 may, if desired, be rigidly connected to the tubular member 12.

The outer end member 13 is in the form of a cap removably mounted on the tubular member 12 as by being provided with a ilange 15 which is adapted to embrace and frictionally engage the upper end of said tubular member. Spot welding, solder, screws or any other .well known means may employed for holding the cap in posiion.

The cap 13 is provided with an annular central depression 16 which is adapted to engage within the upper end of an inner tubular member 17 which has its lower end extending through and beyond the inner end member 14. The tubular member 17 is provided with a bead 18 which forms a shoulder for positioning the end or cap member 14. The inner end of the tubular member 17 is preferably provided with one or more slots 19 and with a clamping band 21 wherebythe device may be slipped over the end of the carburetor and intake of an internal combustion engine and clamped in position thereon by a suitable clamping bolt 22. For convenience of description the tubular members l2 and 17 will be referred to as the outer and inner walls, respectively, of the casing 11.

The outer and inner walls 12 and 17 of the casing are provided with openings 20 0 and 30 through which air may pass into the tubular member 17 and on into the engine intake.

The lter member 23 is placed within the casing between the outer and inner walls 12 5 and 17. This material in the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a backing of vegetable ber material,'as burlap 24, see Fig. 3, to which is attached a comparatively thick layer of animal hair 0 25. The layer of hair is attached by stitching, tufting, or by drawing loops of the hair through the fabric. The lter member 23 may be rolled in the form of a spiral with the hair outward and inserted in the space between the walls 12 and 17 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, after the same has been impregnated with oil, or may be assembled rst and dipped in oil, etc., after assembly, as desired. By removing the cap 13 the 0 lter member 23 may be removed and cleaned as often as necessary, or the whole assembly unit may be removed, washed out and reoiled without disassembling.

The oil impregnated burlap backing will continually supply a film of oil to the hair and the air passing therethrough will have 4the dust and other foreign matter removed by coming in contact with the oil lm on the hair.

The form of the device shown in Fig. 4 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 in that the lter member 27 is formed of a plurality of disks 28 of the lter material shown in Fig. 3, each having a central opening for o receiving the inner tubular member 17. The

disks of lter material are placed in the casing 11 with the burlap or backing of vegetable ber spaced between the brous material whereby when the disks have been saturated, oil will be continually supplied to the hair by capillary attraction, from the saturated brous material 24.

The form of construction shown in Fig. 5

r differs from that in Figs. 1 and 2 in that the 6" layer of' hair 31 is suiciently thick that it and the burlap backing 32 will ll the space between the inner and outer walls of the lter casing. In this form of construction the lter material is cut the proper length to roll into a cylinder.

In Figs. 6 and 7 is shown a modied form of lter material in which strands of vegetable ber material 33 are twisted about strands of metal 34 and then woven into what may be termed a cloth 35. The cloth of suitable width is then rolled spirally into a cylinder and after being dipped in oil is inserted in the casing in the same manner as has been described.

In this form of construction the oil impregnated vegetable ber will continually supply a lm of oil to the strands of metal, whereby the fabric will collect the dust from the air as the same passes therethrough.

In Athe form of construction shown in Fig. 8 a wire screen 36 and a fabric of vegetable ber 37 are arranged alternately and rolled into a spiral; to form a cylinder 38 which, i after being dipped in oil, is adapted to be inserted in the casing 11 in the manner described above. In this form of construction the fabric of vegetable material is adapted to4 continually supply an oil lm to the wire screen for removing the dust from the air passing through the lter.

The parts of the'casing 11 are shown as being stamped from sheet metal although it is understood that these parts may be cast or made in any suitable manner. By being made from sheet metal an extremely cheap lter is provided, and one in which the lter material may be readily removed for cleaning or replacement.

While I have shown the outer casing 12 as being of sheet metal with openings therein for the passage of air, it is understood that a wire screen or other reticulated member may be substituted therefor. It is also understood that the form of the filter may be changed to include one or more sheets of the above described lter material held in a flat frame suitable for ltering the air passing through large pipes or ducts and also, owing to the eXible nature of this form of filtering material, it may be employed on single or double movable cylinders or rolls whereby it would be slowly rolled through a bath of oil, water, etc., for continuous ltering and Washing.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an air lter, a casing formed by an outer endless foraminous wall, an inner endless foraminous wall spaced from said outer Wall, and lter means in the space between said walls, said means comprising a backing of vegetable ber adapted to be impregnated with oil with brous material of non-vegetable origin attached thereto.

2. In an air lter, a casing having openings in its s ide walls for the passage of air f 20 said casing, said fabric being adapted to be therethro h, filter means in said said mearisg comprising a layer of vegetab e brous material and a layer of fibrous material of non-ve etable origin in contact with 5 said iirst name material whereby when said n first named material is impregnated with oil -the same will be conducted to said second named material, said means beingv rolled into a tight roll and inserted in said casing, the

second named material being outwardly of said roll and adjacent to said casing.

3. An air filter comprisin a casing having openings in its side wa for the passage of air therethrough, a filter member within said casing, said member comprising a layer of animal fiber secgured to a fabric of vegetable vfiber, said member bein rolled into-a. tight roll and inserted in sai casing with the yanimal fabric nearest .to

impregnated with oil for supplying/the same tosaid layer of animal fiber, and means for attaching said casing to the intake passage of an internal combustion engine whereb air taken in b said engine will pass throug aid animal ber for filtering theldust thererom. 4. .An air filter comprising a casing having a plurality of air openings in its walls a conduit extending into"said casing, sai

Y conduit having a plurality of air passages in its walls, a lter element between the walls of Said casing and conduit, said element comprising ibrous material of vegetable origin incontact witha mass of filter ymaterial of loose texturersaid lirst named material being impregnated with oil for supplying oil to said second named material for removing dust from the air passing through said lter. 'i

' 5. In an `air iilter, a filter body composed of strands of metal and laments of or anic 7 matter'mutuall interwoven to form a othl like web said c othlike web being rolled into an annular tight roll of a plurality of layers with said filaments extending' parallel to the axis of said roll. i v 6. In an air lilter, aweb of filter material tightly rolled into an annular roll to. form a filter bod comprising metal strands-and laments oA orgameinatterxtending lon tudinally of the axis of said roll, the stra `ds of metal forming Asaid filter web and -laments of 'organic matter bein mutuall -intert'wined and impre ated wlth oilyw ereby the oil absorbed y; the organic matter 1 willA by capillarity continue to spread over the surface of the metal strands. j In testimony whereof I aix my`s`ignature. CHARLES A. WINSLOW. 

